Chapter 2: Marineford
"Hiss~"
Karl only felt the muscles in his body begin to spasm. After a violent shudder, everything became dull and tasteless. But it wasn't over. Karl once again invested five attribute enhancement cards, this time strengthening Perception.
"View attributes."
Host: Karl
Age: 24
Physique: E-
Perception: F
Will: E
Special Ability: Maiden's Stillness
Karl stretched his muscles and bones, and a crackling sound came from his body. He had become stronger, but only a little bit.
However, Karl was already very satisfied. Drinking tea, reading the newspaper, fishing, and flirting with girls every day easily surpassed a month of his hard training. Where else could he find such a good deal?
Now, he just needed to reach Marine Headquarters, join the marine training camp, and begin his glorious slacking career!
From now on, Aokiji would be his eternal idol, and he would resolutely resist workaholics like Akainu!
It was a joke. With such a meager monthly salary, why would he risk his life!
At dawn the next day, Karl was still happily playing with older sisters in his dreams, but the dormitory was in an uproar. He could vaguely hear talk about Marine Headquarters, Marineford, and the like.
Karl cursed inwardly, covered his ears, and continued to sleep. He had gone to bed very late yesterday, and then a "snoring exchange meeting" started in the cabin, keeping Karl awake until after three in the morning. He urgently needed to catch up on sleep.
He didn't know how much time had passed. He vaguely felt someone calling him, but Karl still didn't wake up.
"Bang!"
"You bastard! Everyone else is up and assembled, and you're still here sleeping in? This is unreasonable, get up for me now!"
Shuzo angrily ripped the blanket off Karl, dragged him all the way to the crescent bay port. The other new recruits were already lined up in formation, chests out, heads high, looking straight ahead.
Standing in front of them was a tall, purple-haired man, about 65 years old, with a resolute face and a body covered in powerful, developed muscles.
Seeing the dazed Karl, he frowned slightly and spoke in a slightly gruff voice: "Shuzo, what's going on?"
Shuzo suppressed his anger, bowed his head respectfully, and said, "Teacher Zephyr, this kid was sleeping in! I caught him!"
"Hm, is that so? Recruit, you'd better give this old man a reasonable explanation!"
Looking at this tall, resolute man, Karl felt a little emotional.
Standing before him was the former Marine Admiral, the current General Instructor, "Black Arm" Zephyr!
The Marines he trained were all over the Four Seas. Even his boss, old Charles, had been Zephyr's student.
Facing Zephyr's question, Karl swallowed. He felt as if he was being stared at by a wild beast, and his back felt slightly cold.
His scalp tingling, he replied: "Reporting, sir! Because I knew I was coming to Marine Headquarters yesterday, I was too excited to sleep all night, so I woke up late."
A faint smile appeared on Zephyr's expressionless face. He recalled the recruit files he reviewed yesterday. This kid seemed to have joined the Marines at 14 and had been in for 10 years.
It was his first time at Marine HQ! It was normal to be a little excited, so he wouldn't bother making things difficult for him. Time was precious, and anyway, there would be plenty of ways to train him later.
"Fall in!"
Karl breathed a sigh of relief, walked into the formation without a word, puffed out his chest, and looked straight ahead.
Zephyr scanned the Marine formation, nodding imperceptibly. Their spirits were good. He was just about to speak when he felt a tightness in his chest and began to cough uncontrollably.
"Cough! Cough cough~" Zephyr waved his hand to signal Shuzo not to help. He pounded his chest a few times, which brought some relief, but he was still breathing heavily.
"Everyone, from today on, you are this old man's soldiers! Regardless of your previous rank, here you have only one identity: Recruit!"
"For the next two months, you have only one goal. Tell me, what is your goal?"
All the recruits, including Karl, shouted without hesitation: "To get stronger!"
Slacking and getting stronger weren't mutually exclusive. Karl just wanted to get stronger while slacking, earning money while lying down. What was wrong with that?
"That's right! What this old man can teach you is how to get stronger! So, in the time to come, I will squeeze every last bit of potential out of you and turn you into Marine elites! Do you have confidence?"
"Yes!"
"Very good, this old man believes in you! Now, cough cough~ follow Instructor Shuzo to the training grounds!"
Zephyr originally had much more to say, but his damned asthma was acting up again.
He had to end the speech early and have Shuzo take this group of new recruits to the training grounds to test their Doriki levels and see what they were made of.
Karl walked within the ranks, looking up at the imposing Marine Headquarters. The building had the word "Marine" written on it, with the Marine emblem in the middle.
They passed through the Marine family residential area and arrived at the Marine Headquarters. The formation stopped.
Shuzo stood before the group and shouted: "Next, we will test everyone's Doriki. When your name is called, come forward! First, Ain!"
The youthful and energetic Ain stepped out of the line. Following Shuzo's instructions, she punched the Doriki-measuring device hard. The displayed value was 401. Shuzo looked at Ain's file and said, "Are you a Devil Fruit user?"
"Yes, I am a user of the Paramecia-type Return-Return Fruit."
Shuzo nodded, recorded the Doriki value next to Ain's name, and drew a circle. "Next."
After about half an hour, it was finally Karl's turn. He looked at the testing machine in front of him, took a deep breath, and unleashed a charged punch!
486! The highest in the group. Even Shuzo, who had been looking down on him, gave Karl a few extra glances. This pretty boy seemed to have something!
But it was just a few extra glances. This score wasn't that outstanding. An average Marine soldier had a Doriki of 10, and only those exceeding 500 were considered superhuman.
That group of overconfident CP9 members who would later go undercover in Water 7... their strongest, Lucci, had a full 4000 Doriki, and even the weakest, Fukuro, had 800.
And this was the score Karl got *after* using the attribute enhancement cards.
It could only be said that this batch of new recruits wasn't very strong; he was just the tallest among the short.
[Career Mission - Training Camp Storm]: Successfully entered the marine training camp. Reward: Devil Fruit, Paramecia-type Holy Light Fruit. It has been deposited into the system space. Please check.
"Damn!"
Karl cursed quietly. He knew that with his luck, he couldn't expect any Zoan Mythical-type or Logia-type Devil Fruits.
But having one was better than nothing. While waiting, Karl quickly asked the system and finally figured out what this Devil Fruit was.
The Holy Light Fruit was a support-type Devil Fruit. After eating it, one could use a power called Holy Light. Holy Light had two basic abilities: first, healing, and second, enhancement.
In short, by eating this Holy Light Fruit, Karl could transform into a "support," able to heal and buff. For the Marines, with their large numbers, this kind of ability was simply top-tier.
"This fruit... is pretty awesome!"
But there was no rush. He'd see if there was a chance to get a Mythical Zoan later; otherwise, he'd be too embarrassed to talk to people when he went out.
Ding! [Training Camp Storm Phase 2 Activated]: Training Phase. Accumulate 400 hours of slacking.
Reward: Designated Attribute Enhancement Card (Advanced) *10.
Special Skill: [Swift as a Hare]. In a state of motion, stamina consumption speed is halved.
Gulp. Karl swallowed. Nothing more to say. Time to start slacking!